Keeping anybody waiting is bad. Unprofessional, if you are a journalist, and a blunder when it is someone as busy as Ritu Kumar. When t2 finally landed up at her Sealdah factory, she greeted us with the warmest of smiles. “It’s not the easiest of places to find! Give her a glass of water. Have chai? Will you have lunch with us?” she asked. What! She is not angry?! After all, she had a flight to catch in the next few hours. A 30-minute adda with the doyen of Indian fashion revealed what makes her a class apart.  

Winter or summer weddings — what is your pick?

What tends to happen for summer weddings is they tend to become a little more realistic in the sense that it is not such a costume drama. Winter weddings, especially in Delhi, tend to become theatrical events. 

What are your tips to crack a perfect summer wedding?

It’s very nice when people dress according to the tradition of that place. In Kerala, they wear the white-and-red sari, lots of flowers in the hair... looks beautiful. The Gujarati weddings have black-and-red thematic lehngas. In Rajasthan, they wear only soft chiffons and it’s got the Holi colours. In Punjab, they have summer weddings in the morning... it has to finish by 12.... Even summer evening weddings, for example, in Chennai, are small affairs with the Vedas being sung. 

If you are a Calcutta bride’s wedding planner this season, what would you suggest for her?

Pick up one of our lighter lehngas, but in that Benarasi mode because that is a part of tradition in Bengal. Wear that with an off-white or gold blouse and a very fine chunni. It’ll be nice to innovate for a Bengali wedding. Now they want to wear skirts and lehngas... may be find a mix. But I would say to keep it simple. Colours would be red... red and off-white, red-gold... definitely! It could be different shades of red... fuchsia, burgundy, a lighter saffron. 

You have dressed many a beautiful bride...

When (model) Manpreet Brar got married, she had a Sikh wedding where she wore a lehnga and a long kurti. That kind of innovation is nice because she didn’t want to wear a salwar. It was in the morning and it was all marigold and off-white. She looked gorgeous. For the reception, she wore dusty rose. It was non-bling. In India we still have the option where you can get your bridal clothes with embroidery. I would suggest a bride does that because it stays with time and you can pass it on to the next generation. If you go for a very blingy new look, it’s fun but it doesn’t travel well in time because it doesn’t have the same aesthetics.

What would you pack in a summer wedding trousseau?

A lot of summer weddings are destination weddings. So, the whole look is lighter... more chiffon-y, more net-y. What is happening in our country is that our wardrobes are expanding. I think it is a huge diversity that we are playing with. Just the functions dictate that you can play around with a lot of styles and shapes. For the Sangeet, a lot of girls like to wear gowns now. And why not? I would still think one of the most versatile thing for a bride to have in her wardrobe is a sari with some different, sexy blouses. And, then of course, there is a lot of fusionwear which works very well for beach weddings... kaftan-y clothes. 

Mind you, all of these are innovations of the last 10 years. Before that there were very few prescribed clothes that people could wear and they are still pretty prescribed for the day of the wedding, even for the bride. Like Dia (Mirza) only wanted to wear a pharshee pyjama. Rinku (Sharmila Tagore) wanted Kareena (Kapoor) to wear her mother-in-law’s joda for nikah... part of their own tradition and culture. So, for the day of the actual ceremony, I find people want to stay with the classics. For the rest... like Soha (Ali Khan), they don’t really have to wear a leheriya for Mehndi. It is very Rajasthani, but she loved it. So, it’s not only a mixture of styles but a mixture of influences from different states of the country. 

What is the new Indian bride like?

She is far more informed. Thirty years back, I don’t think the bride had much of a choice. Today, there is so much for her to choose from. Otherwise you were given a red sari and you got married in it, right? 

Do you think the simplicity is lost, though?

There are a lot of people who only want to wear that. It depends. It has become a major thing to do with your personality. I know this lady who is a doctor in America... she just wants to get married in a simple Benarasi sari, but to her that’s exotic enough. And then there is somebody who wants a 10-kilo lehnga. 

Is Bollywood still an influence?

A major influence. Whenever we have done bridals, everyone wants to dress like that, which is a good thing because we do traditional bridals. I just feel it is dependent on who you are. If you came to me, I would ask you, ‘Where are you getting married?’ ‘How would people like to see you?’ You are obviously not going to be wearing a black gown. I don’t think there is anything wrong in experimenting. 

What do you think a modern bride thinks when she comes to you?

She has been thinking for a long time. From the time you are a teenager you start thinking what would you be wearing for your wedding. I have a lot of girls who come to me and say, ‘I am going to come to you when I get married’. ‘Are you engaged?’ I ask. They are like, ‘Noo!’ (Laughs)

Has she always wanted to be the most important person in the wedding?

They want to be! No question. (Laughs) At one time, they didn’t know what was happening to them. Today it is very individualistic.

When do you think this shift happened?

I think when more and more women started getting professional and less dependent on the family to make their decisions for them. 

Are the brides coming to you alone these days?

Now more and more the bride herself is making her decisions. If she wants endorsment, she might bring in her mother.... Decisions are made quickly. They know exactly what they want.

You love coming to Calcutta...

I always come on work but I also do a lot of relaxing. This is where I have worked for 45 years. Sometimes, I feel I am more at home here than in Delhi.

How would you like to dress up for your wedding day? Tell t2@abp.in